Learning the lesson of seeing Lazarus

9:16 PM,
Oct. 11, 2013

The Rev. Jacob W. Owensby is the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana.

Written by

Jacob W. Owensby
Guest Columnist

Lots of us have imagined what it would be like to be invisible. And a variety of popular authors have helped us to run with that fantasy. For instance, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter has an invisibility cloak. He wears it from time to time to fight the evil forces aligned with Lord Voldemort.

This sort of invisibility exists purely in fiction. Jesus, by contrast, tells a parable about a very real kind of invisibility. His parable of Lazarus and the rich man teaches us about our power to treat others as if they were invisible and about how this very power always turns against the one who wields it. (Luke ...